COMMITTEE NAMED TO STUDY FIXED CLIMBING ANCHOR ISSUE
                                                           
                                           Release No. 0135.00 
                                                               
                                                               
                                   Keven Kennedy (202) 720-7173
                                         keven.kennedy@usda.gov
                              
  COMMITTEE NAMED TO STUDY FIXED CLIMBING ANCHOR ISSUE
  
       WASHINGTON, April 25, 2000- Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman
  today appointed a 23 member committee to help determine the Forest
  Service policy for the use of fixed climbing anchors in designated
  wilderness areas in the National Forest System.  The committee is
  comprised of a diverse group of individuals, including representatives
  from the Forest Service, the climbing community, environmental groups,
  as well as the recreation industry.
  
       "I am pleased with the process we've chosen and believe it will
  yield an appropriate resolution to the fixed anchor debate," said Jim
  Lyons, Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment.  "I
  believe the balanced composition and expertise represented on this panel
  will ensure that the interests of the climbing community will be
  protected while, at the same time, protecting these valuable natural
  resources." 
  
       The use of fixed anchors in wilderness areas has been a subject of
  discussion for several years and became an issue in 1998 after a Forest
  Service ban on the use of nylon and metal anchors in Idaho's Sawtooth
  Wilderness was extended to all wilderness areas nationwide.  This
  nationwide ban subsequently was lifted pending the outcome of the
  negotiated rulemaking process.  Under the negotiated rulemaking process,
  the committee will work with a neutral facilitator to work toward a
  consensus on language for a proposed rule to regulate the use of fixed
  anchors in Forest Service wilderness areas.  
       
       The committee meetings will be open to the public and meeting
  schedules will be announced in the Federal Register and on the Forest
  Service World Wide Web site at http://www.fs.fed.us.   The Forest
  Service will incorporate the committee's recommendations into a proposed
  rule that will be published in the Federal Register for public comment.  
  
       Members of the Fixed Anchor Negotiated Rulemaking Committee named
  today are:
  
  Lloyd Athearn, American Alpine Club, Golden, Colo.
  Kathleen Beamer,  Recreation Equipment Inc. Seattle, Wash.
  Frank Buono, Prineville, Ore.
  David Custer, Cambridge, Mass.
  Sam Davidson,  The Access Fund, Salinas, Calif.
  Larry Gadt,  USDA Forest Service, Washington, D.C.
  Brian Huse, National Parks and Conservation Association, Oakland, Calif.
  Stephan Jackson, National Outdoor Leadership School, Bridgton, Maine
  Myrna Johnson, Outdoor Recreation Coalition of America, Boulder, Colo.
  Jon Krakauer, Boulder, Colo.
  Craig Mackey, Outward Bound, Golden, Colo.
  William Maher Jr.,  Alexandria, Va.
  John McCarthy, Idaho Conservation League, Boise, Idaho
  Douglas Medville, National Speleological Society, Reston, Va.
  Patrick Mullaney, The Mountaineers, Seattle, Wash.
  George Nickas, Wilderness Watch, Missoula, Mont.
  Phil Powers, American Mountain Guide Association, Lander, Wyo.
  Kevin Proescholdt, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness,
  Minneapolis, Minn.
  Scott Silver,  Wild Wilderness, Bend, Ore.
  Jay Watson, Wilderness Society, San Francisco, Calif.
  Jeff Widen, Sierra Club, Durango, Colo.
  Rick Wilcox, Mountain Rescue Service, Eaton, N.H.
  Steve Wolper,  Ketchum, Idaho
  Philip Harter, neutral facilitator, The Mediation Institute, South
  Royalton, Vt.
  
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